


Gunpoint

by Jinmukang



Series: Whumptober 2019 [5]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics), Nightwing (Comics)
Genre: Bruce Wayne is a Good Dad, Dick Grayson Whump, Dick Grayson is a Ray of Sunshine, Hostage Situations, Hurt/Comfort, Whumptober 2019, gunpoint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-15
Updated: 2019-10-15
Packaged: 2020-12-17 06:08:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21049583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jinmukang/pseuds/Jinmukang
Summary: It took Bruce seven days to find Dick.





	Gunpoint

**Author's Note:**

> Little... Okay WAY behind on whumptober but I'll get there... Eventually...

Nightwing’s on his knees, his hands locked behind his back. Cuts decorate his suit, showing injured skin below, all over his body. His mask is torn, hanging on by will power alone, one white leans shattered and showing off a single electric blue eye narrowed in pain and anger. His hair is tussled, knotted, completely out of whatever style it’s supposed to be in. Batman isn’t quite sure if it’s because of the seven days of captivity or if its the meaty hand grasping onto the side of his head by the roots. Could be both. All Batman knows for sure is that his lips are chapped, his cheeks are bruised, and that there’s a handgun loaded with a deadly 9mm bullet pressed against his jugular.

“Don’t get any smart ideas,” a man says, and Batman levels his steady glare on him. Kirk Nerling: a new big bad in Blüdhaven, someone Batman didn’t even know existed until Barbara informed him that Nightwing’s been silent for, at the time, 72 hours. It isn’t entirely new information that Nightwing sometimes isolates himself when he’s stressed or emotionally compromised. Bruce was fully prepared to tell Barbara to simply listen out for him and not to worry, but that day was Cassandra’s birthday (to the best of their knowledge) and Nightwing didn’t even bother to leave a happy message for the young woman. It’s entirely unlike him to forget a birthday, let alone a sibling’s birthday.

After some research, they found that gang activity has been on a steady uprise for quite a few days in Blüdhaven, and after some more research Bruce found that Nerling was the leader of that activity, attempting to fill in the shoes of Blockbuster. 

It took a few days, but he eventually found evidence of Nightwing’s abduction, and a few more days to pinpoint the location of his imprisonment. 

All in all, it took Batman seven days to realize his eldest was missing, captured, and being held in a panic room hidden behind a bookcase just next to Nerling’s grand office desk.

Turns out, a man who captures Nightwing earns himself a reputation of steel. He has many supporters now, many gunmen and mercenaries and gangsters to protect and serve him. It took several minutes for Batman alone to make it to the top story of the corporate skyscraper; Robin, Black Bat, and Signal are still in the lower levels of the building, fighting the hired guns. Red Hood, Red Robin, and Spoiler are back at Gotham taking care of a rather large drug bust which actually turned out to be connected to Nerling in of itself.

Seven days. Seven days. This man has taken over an entire city and is extending his reach across the bay all within a week, going almost entirely unnoticed by the bats who protect these cities. 

Bruce would almost be impressed if his son isn’t currently being held at gunpoint. 

And if he weren’t Batman.

“It’s over,” Batman growls, “let him go and give up.”

“Nah,” Nerling says, sighing and clasping his hands behind his back. He leans back against his mahogany desk, the expanse of Blüdhaven’s skyline encompassing him from behind thanks to the floor to ceiling windows. Bullet proof, Batman’s already checked. “If it was over, you wouldn’t be asking me to let our friend go.”

Nightwing makes a grunting noise, probably made as a result from the hired chunk of muscle holding him hostage trying to make a point that he has Nightwing’s still in his grasp. But Bruce keeps his gaze locked on Nerling. “My team will be up here soon, you have no chance of escaping. There’s only two of you.”

“Yes, yes,” Nerling says, waving his hand in the air as if shooing a pesky fly away. He stands from the desk and Batman carefully hides his tensing. He strides over to Nightwing and bends down, one hand falls onto Nightwing’s shoulder. Nightwing visibly tenses, but with the handgun pressing into his flesh, right between his jaw and neck, there is nothing he can do. “There’s only two of us, but… there’s only one of _him_.”

Batman scowls, knowing that this is where it would lead. A man like Nerling, with his charisma and business like way of leading and conquering, he would have no need of keeping Nightwing alive once Nightwing fell into his hands.

Taking Nightwing prisoner not only got rid of Blüdhaven’s persistent protector, but it also gave him a very good bargaining chip to use against the rest of the bats. Keeping Nightwing alive gave him an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. 

A very effective stone to say the least. Though, it’s nothing Batman hasn’t dealt with before. Nothing Dick, Jason, Tim, Cass, Steph, Damian, and Duke hasn’t dealt with before. Though, he must also remain careful. Getting confident just because he and his partners have made it out of hundreds of similar situations can make it so that this time it simply won’t be the case. 

“What do you want?” Batman growls. 

Nerling smiles and stands straight, but he keeps his hand mockingly on Nightwing’s shoulder. “It’s simple really. You and your friends return to our sister city, and Egior here doesn’t pull the trigger. You stay out of my way, and he’ll stay breathin’”

Egior grunts at the sound of his name, grins at the idea of pressing the trigger. 

“B, no,” Nightwing whispers, his voice soft and raspy from misuse. It sends Batman’s toes curling in barely contained anger.

“I’m not leaving here without him,” he says, making his voice forceful enough to leave no room for arguments. “You let him go, and we’ll leave you alone.”

Nerling scoffs. “Do you really think I’m that stupid, B-”

He cuts himself off with a scream, a metal bat shaped shuriken—or _batarang _as Nightwing lovingly calls them—sticking out of his shoulder, just next to his collarbone. He stumbles backwards and before Egior can do much, another batarang is thrown at his hand. Metal pierces flesh, and the weapon drops to the ground with a startled cry. Batman grins as a body lands next to him, a flick of a yellow cape.

“Yes, we do,” Robin says, grinning but his whole body shaking with an eagerness to fight.

The fight does begin, and it doesn’t last long, if anything it’s anticlimactic. It begins with Nightwing kicking out his legs and tripping up Egior. Batman throws a smoke bomb, and Robin rushes forward while he pulls out his sword. Only a couple punches are thrown, most of them are spent trying to knock down the brick wall called Egior, but within a minute and smoke clears, two unconscious bodies lay on the ground with their wrists and ankles zip tied. Batman stands up from Egior and Robin rushes over towards Nightwing who’s struggling to his feet, his hands still cuffed but moved during the confusion to the front of his body.

Batman’s heart flutters when he sees how Robin doesn’t even hesitate to wrap his arms around Nightwing’s waist in support. Nightwing smiles, it not quite reaching his eyes but enough so it could be considered genuine. “Took you long enough,” he wheezes. Batman doesn’t say anything, just strides forward and take Nightwing’s bruised hands in his own so he can work the locks. Once the cuffs fall to the ground, Nightwing lurches forward even with the support of Robin. Batman catches him by the shoulders and steadies him.

“It took us time to realize you were missing,” Batman says, lowering Nightwing to the floor. Robin backs away and mumbles that he’s going to check the restraints of “those heathens” as Batman attempts to get Nightwing in a comfortable position on the thinly carpeted floor. 

“S’alright,” Nightwing murmurs. “S’not your fault…”

“Awe man, did we miss the fun?” A new voice says and Nightwing’s smile widens. He looks past Batman’s shoulder to see Signal clad in yellow standing in the doorway with Black Bat a little behind him.

“Nah,” Nightwing says as Signal and Black Bat make their way into the room. Both look a little roughed up, but otherwise fine. Bat… _Bruce _wasn’t worried. Cass is here, after all.

Speaking of Cass, Dick weakly lifts a hand up and she reacts accordingly, their hands wrap in a sturdy hold around each other’s wrists. A catcher’s hold.

“Sorry I missed it,” he whispers and Bruce’s heart tightens. Dick would never forget a birthday, even while he was held hostage by a wanna be crime lord.

It’s hard to make out Cass’s expression with her mask, but her cheeks appear to sharpen and lift in what can definitely be considered a genuine smile. “Make up for it,” she says simply, and Dick chuckles in response. Duke joins in with his own laugh, Damian scoffs, and Bruce cant hide the small tugging of his lips.

Dick passes out on the way back to Gotham, though it’s because of exhaustion instead of any injury or fever, so Bruce let’s him sleep the entire way. Thankfully, Jason is there in the cave with Tim and Steph to assist in hefting Dick's dead weight out of the batmobile and into the med bay where Alfred’s already waiting with painkillers and band aids.

It’s amazing how the simple notion of Dick being in danger is enough to get everyone to the manor. Jason isn’t even complaining about being around Bruce, in fact he’s happily telling embarrassing stories about Dick from his early Nightwing days to the rest of the kids; Damian interrupts every so often to voice his outrage that Dick would grow a mullet or something similar. Bruce remains in the med bay, his hand carding through Dick’s tangled out hair.

Amazing.

Simply, incredible. 


End file.
